Canadian Olympic gold medalist Brady Leman of Calgary, Alberta won a World Cup men’s ski cross bronze medal in Innichen, Italy on Thursday. It was Leman’s first podium finish since winning the Olympic gold medal at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang this past February.
Leman began the event by winning the seventh qualification heat. He then won the fourth quarterfinal by beating Morgan Guipponi of France, Tyler Wallasch of the United States and Siegmar Klotz of Italy. Then in the semifinal, Leman finished second in the second semifinal, behind Jonathan Midol of France. Then in the finals, Jonanthan Midol of France won the gold medal, and his brother Bastien Midol of France won the silver medal. Leman meanwhile beat out Paul Eckert of Germany to win the bronze medal.
Leman is currently in sixth place in the World Cup men’s standings with 322 points. Alex Fiva of Switzerland leads the World Cup standings with 438 points. In the women’s ski cross World Cup also on Thursday, Fanny Smith of Switzerland won the gold medal, followed by Sandra Naeslund of Sweden and Marielle Berger Sabbatel of France. The World Cup bronze medal will give Leman confidence as he prepares for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.
